8 Uh-oh. Studies show that nanoparticles can work their way into the bloodstream, penetrate cells, and get past the blood-brain barrier. Research has linked such particles to lung damage; the brain may be affected too.

9 But if those particles don’t kill us, they just might save us. Scientists at U.C. San Diego have designed afluorescent nanoparticle that glows inside the body, making it easier to image tumors and organ damage.

10 Yale researchers have created plastic nanospheres that encapsulate proteins called cytokines, which stimulate the immune system’s killer T-cells. An injection of those spheres could help fight disease and infection.

11 And in a University of Southern California lab, nanotubes have been used to create synthetic neurons (pdf).

12 The USC team is trying to assemble these neurons into functional networks, which would bring us closer to assistive brain implants.

13 In 1989, using an atomic force microscope, IBM engineer Don Eigler became the first person to move and control a single atom.